We are repeating our successful Reverse Advent Calendar campaign this year – and we hope to beat last year’s record-breaking donation tally!

What is Reverse Advent?

It's Advent with a twist: instead of opening a box for a daily treat, we are asking people to put an essential food bag item into a box every day during December. As an alternative, making a £3 donation is enough to buy someone in need a foodbag meal over the Christmas period.

Thanks to donations, last year 90 foodbags were given out during the Christmas week, making sure 170 people had a Christmas they would otherwise have had to go without. In total Nourish provided 1,530 meals over the festive period.

For those who want to take part, here is a Christmas wishlist of our most needed items:

Christmas treats

Tinned potatoes

Instant mash

Dried noodles

Long-life milk

Coffee

Small toiletries

Household items.

How do we get our complete box to Nourish?

Once again, the campaign is being supported by Royal Victoria Place (RVP) shopping centre which has kindly donated a pop-up shop in Ely Court to raise awareness of the campaign every Saturday in December. In addition, the shop will be open every afternoon from December 20th-22nd to allow shoppers and visitors to drop off their completed Reverse Advent Calendars.

Completed calendars can be dropped off at the Nourish pop-up shop in Ely Court at Royal Victoria Place from December 20th-22rd between 12-5pm, or until December 23rd at the Big Yellow Self Storage at Longfield Road.

Please share your calendars on social media using the hashtags #NourishFoodbank and #OurTownCares.